Pittsburghers donate food for Light of Life Mission’s Thanksgiving, as part of 11 Cares

PITTSBURGH — Many of our neighbors enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal, thanks to your generosity. 11 Cares asked you to donate food for Light of Life Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving Boxes and you came through!

“We give you a turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, yams, corn, green beans, rolls, butter,” said Doug Smith, director of Development Light of Life Rescue Mission. “Literally everything you can imagine you’d need for a Thanksgiving dinner-we have it in the box.”

Families got to share in the joy of a homecooked meal at their home, thanks to countless volunteers and donations that came through Light of Life Rescue Mission.

Some of those came in early November, as 11 Cares and its partners, 84 Lumber, Clearview Federal Credit Union, Duquesne Light and Highmark Wholecare, teamed up to collect food for the Thanksgiving dinner boxes.

Ten years ago, the Light of Life started with 76 families. This year volunteers packed 1,750 Thanksgiving dinner boxes for families in need.

The names of families come from 27 of Light of Life’s partner organizations.

“It’s a win for the family, because they’re getting a Thanksgiving dinner to share with their family and it’s a win for the organization that’s helping the family because they get to further their relationship,” said Smith.

It’s also a win for the volunteers packing boxes, who get great satisfaction out of what they’re doing.

“It fits perfectly into what we do-we deliver,” said Shannon Arnold, managing director of FedEx Ground University. “And this is a way for us to deliver hope to our neighbors.”

Once the boxes were packed at World Vision in Sewickley, they were loaded up and delivered to families across the area in time for Thanksgiving.

“It is an honor to be able to serve families in need, in their time of need,” said Smith.

The Light of Life Rescue Mission reminds you they have volunteer opportunities all year round, not just Thanksgiving week. MORE INFORMATION HERE.

11 cares performing with Light of Life Rescue Mission to provide Thanksgiving meals